Lowe

also Low, Lowes

Dweller by the mound, a Marches hill-name.

Origin: North West, England
Famous bearer: Arthur Lowe (1915–1982), actor (Dad's Army)
Register: English family

Territory of Lowe

CoreHistoric reach

The seat of Lowe

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the Lowe community yet. When the movement opens, you can stand for its leadership, or help elect whoever does.

Current mission

No shared goal set yet. Once Lowe has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

The Lowe clan is being rebuilt. Join the waiting list for the movement today, and you help decide who leads it and what it does.

Help rebuild the Lowe clan →

What does the Lowe name mean?

The history of Lowe

The hlaw element is some of the oldest landscape vocabulary in England, the word for the grassy barrows that dot the Peak and the Cheshire plain, and the surname clung to the families who farmed beside them. The west-midland and Pennine-fringe parishes carry the densest Lowe concentration; the Lawrence-derived Lowe lines blur into it from the south, and the spelling settles on Lowe or Low county by county.

Arthur Lowe (1915–1982), born at Hayfield on the Derbyshire edge of the Peak, played Captain Mainwaring in Dad's Army and became one of the best-loved faces of English television comedy. Rob Lowe (b. 1964), the Virginia-born actor of The West Wing and St. Elmo's Fire, and his younger brother Chad Lowe took it to Hollywood, while the model and broadcaster Daisy Lowe (b. 1989) keeps it current in Britain.

The castles of the homeland

The great strongholds of the homeland, look one up, see what it looked like in its prime, and recreate it to explore.

Windsor CastleRestored · prime 1820

Tower of LondonRestored · prime 1285

Bamburgh CastleRestored · prime 1904

All castles in England → · Strongest castles in England → · Castles of Europe

Play As Your Clan

Explore history as a LoweStart your story →

Pick any year from 500 to 1945 and any place on earth, the Lowe country, or a shore no Lowe ever reached. The chronicler sets the scene; the deeds are yours.

Notable bearers of the Lowe name

Arthur Lowe (1915–1982), actor (Dad's Army)
Rob Lowe (b. 1964), American actor
Daisy Lowe (b. 1989), model and broadcaster

Frequently asked

What does the surname Lowe mean?

Chiefly locational, from Old English hlaw, a hill, mound or ancient burial-tumulus, so 'dweller by the low', the many Lowe and Low hamlets scattered through Cheshire, Derbyshire and Shropshire. A second strand is a pet-form of Lawrence (Lowe being a clipped Law-rence), and a third a nickname from Old French lou, the wolf. Context and parish sort the three. The hlaw element is some of the oldest landscape vocabulary in England, the word for the grassy barrows that dot the Peak and the Cheshire plain, and the surname clung to the families who farmed beside them.

Where does the Lowe family come from?

The Lowe family is rooted in North West, East Midlands and West Midlands, in England. Within that, the name was particularly concentrated in Cheshire, Derbyshire & the Peak, Staffordshire and Shropshire. The atlas page for the name records the historical territory it has held over the centuries.

Where did the Lowe family historically hold territory?

At its greatest historical extent, the Lowe name has been concentrated in Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Worcestershire & Herefordshire and Birmingham & the Black Country. The atlas page distinguishes the core territory of the name from this wider historical reach with hatched silhouettes on the map.

Is Lowe English or Irish?

Lowe is a English surname; its home on this atlas is England, where the historical territory and family record of the name are concentrated. The same or similar spellings can surface in Irish records, but the lineage documented on this page is the English one.

How old is the Lowe surname?

The hlaw element is some of the oldest landscape vocabulary in England, the word for the grassy barrows that dot the Peak and the Cheshire plain, and the surname clung to the families who farmed beside them. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Lowe name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Lowe family known for?

Dweller by the mound, a Marches hill-name. The hlaw element is some of the oldest landscape vocabulary in England, the word for the grassy barrows that dot the Peak and the Cheshire plain, and the surname clung to the families who farmed beside them.

Is there a Lowe family crest or coat of arms?

There is no single coat of arms that belongs to everyone named Lowe. Heraldic arms were granted to individuals and descend through specific documented lines, so a "family crest" matched to a surname alone is decorative rather than genealogical.

Who is the most famous Lowe?

The best-known bearer of the Lowe name is Arthur Lowe (1915–1982), actor (Dad's Army). Other prominent figures of the family include Rob Lowe (b. 1964), American actor and Daisy Lowe (b. 1989), model and broadcaster.

Who are some famous Lowes?

Notable bearers of the Lowe name include Arthur Lowe (1915–1982), actor (Dad's Army), Rob Lowe (b. 1964), American actor and Daisy Lowe (b. 1989), model and broadcaster. Each is profiled on the family page, with cross-links to the geography, stories, and historical events tied to their life.

Is Low the same family as Lowe?

Yes. Low is a historical spelling variant of the Lowe name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Is Lowes the same family as Lowe?

Yes. Lowes is a historical spelling variant of the Lowe name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Where is the Lowe surname found today?

England is the primary historical home of the Lowe surname. In the modern era, the name is also borne across the wider diaspora, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where families carry the line of descent from the same England origin recorded on this page.

What does the Clan Rising page for the Lowe family cover?

The Clan Rising page for the Lowe family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name, famous bearers of the name and the seat of the head of the family. Each section is linked to the underlying atlas of England so the name can be read in the geography that shaped it.

Who is the head of the Lowe family today?

The seat for the head of the Lowe family is currently vacant on this register. Clan Rising is rebuilding the chief and family structure for the modern era, and the family page allows readers to claim the seat or pledge to the name.